First Impressions
by H. L. Whitemere
Summary: NextGen fic. Follow Rose, Scorpius and Albus during their years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Can old prejudices ever truly disappear?
1. The Hogwarts Express

**A/N: Set directly after the events of Deathly Hallows epilogue. Hopefully this will turn out as I planned, and be quite a lengthy fic instead of the short ones I usually write!  
Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter  
_**Disclaimer:** _I do not own ANY of the Harry Potter characters (unfortunately) or Hogwarts. I do however own a couple of the characters that will be appearing in this fic, because as JKR left a 19 year gap, many of the teachers at Hogwarts will have been replaced!_

--

Rose Weasley stood at the window of the Hogwarts Express, watching the outlines of her parents get smaller and smaller, until eventually they had disappeared altogether. Turning to face the corridor, she searched the crowd of students making their way down the train for a familiar face, and, picking out a head of messy black hair, she started towards Albus Potter, tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Feel like trying to find a compartment?" she asked her cousin.

"Would if I could, Rose," Albus replied, "but I have to find James first and give him his 'Monster Book of Monsters'. Mum says it's better if I lose a couple of fingers in the process than if Hedwig loses a foot trying to deliver it. I'll come and find you straight after though, promise."

Rose's blue eyes narrowed, and she made her way down the train alone. Each compartment that she looked in appeared full, with the exception of two. One held another Weasley - Victoire, daughter of Bill and Fleur, with some of her fellow Gryffindors, and seated in the other was a lone boy, not yet wearing any house colours, which - Rose assumed - made him a first year like herself. An entire journey with Victoire would inevitably be full of stories of how much she would miss "Her Teddy" during her final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - plus, Rose figured, a group of seventh years would hardly want a lowly first year tagging along with them, no matter who she was.

--

Taking a deep breath, she slid open the door of the compartment on her right, causing the boy inside to look up momentarily from the book he was reading.

"Mind if I sit here?"

The boy gave a noncommittal jerk of the head, which Rose took as an invitation to take a seat opposite him. As his book had his undivided attention, she stared at her companion, trying hard to fit a name to the face. He had longish white blond hair, and his eyes, when she had seen them, had appeared to be a light grey. The rest of his face she couldn't see, as it was currently hidden by a large leather bound book - "Hogwarts: A History", the title read - held by pale hands with slender fingers. Rose stifled a gasp. It had suddenly dawned on her who it was that she had chosen to share a compartment with, the one person that her father had told her to avoid.

"You're a Malfoy!" she stated almost accusingly, making the boy look up once more and place the book beside him. Leaning forward slightly, he rested his face on his hands and studied her for a second, sitting back when he seemed to come to a conclusion in his mind.

"You're a Weasley," he replied, the hint of a smile appearing on his face. "What are we playing?"

This comment surprised Rose - her father had repeatedly told her of his hatred of the Malfoy family, stemming mostly from his first meeting aboard the Hogwarts Express with Draco Malfoy, in which the latter had shown an obvious dislike for the Weasleys. To now meet a Malfoy who was acting...friendly, almost, made her wonder what other things her father had told her were based on long standing grudges alone.

"Admittedly, you were hard to place...my father told me that all Weasleys were the same - red hair and a vacant expression - whereas you appear to have neither...what colour would you call that?" The boy had taken advantage of her long silence to ask his own questions, pointing at a tendril of reddish brown hair that had escaped her ponytail.

"Auburn..." she said, "I'm Rose, by the way."

"I know."

"The correct response would have been to give me your name."

"I know **that**, too."

The faint smile had turned into a full grin during this exchange, and Rose found herself smiling back. This Malfoy boy intrigued her - after all she had been told, she had expected to be thrown out of the compartment once he had established her heritage, yet no such thing happened. Perhaps she should just chalk this one up with the rest of the things she should listen to her mother rather than her father about.

"So what house are you hoping for?"

Once again, her silence had led to a question from him.

"Gryffindor, like mum and dad. I suppose it's Slytherin for you?"

"I hope not," his eyes darkened slightly. "I'm all for tradition, however, when tradition dictates that you be vilified because of what a **hat** decides, I'd rather break it. Father's promised not to disown me if I get Ravenclaw, although I'm not too sure where he stands on Gryffindor or Hufflepuff."

Just as Rose was about to reply, the door slid open and Albus entered. He opened his mouth to say something, but then caught sight of Rose's companion and closed it again, instead just glaring at the boy who was seated across from his cousin.

"You're a **Malfoy**!" he said, the dislike evident from the tone of his voice.

"I seem to be getting that a lot today," came the reply accompanied by a slight chuckle.

"Rose? Can I have a word? Not in here," he added, seeing that Rose was gesturing for him to take a seat, "I found another compartment further down the train, we can talk there."

Seeing no other option than to go with him, Rose got to her feet and headed towards the door.

"I'll see you at the Sorting?" she asked with an apologetic smile.

"Of course."

With a small wave she left the compartment and followed Albus down the corridor. Looking back at the compartment that she had just left, she saw the Malfoy boy put his head out of the door. Spotting her, he waved back and shouted,

"I'm Scorpius, by the way."

--

Rose smiled to herself, wondering what her dad would say when he found out that she had befriended a Malfoy. She knew that the answer to that question would come in due course, right now she had to focus on what it was that Albus wanted, although she had a pretty good idea. Entering the compartment she took the seat nearest the window, determined to focus on the scene outside until she was spoken to. They must be getting close to Hogsmeade Station, she thought, the amount of time that had passed since they left Kings Cross seemed to have been an eternity.

"What were you doing back there?"

Albus' voice broke into her thoughts, and she looked up to see him sitting opposite her, arms folded and a stern expression on his usually smiling face.

"Well I **was** trying to have a civil conversation, until you interrupted us..."

"'Us' being you and that...Malfoy?"

"We were the only two people in that compartment, yes," Rose said slowly. "What's your problem Al?"

"He's a **Malfoy**!"

"You're as bad as my dad! Uncle Harry seems to have forgiven the Malfoys, why can't you?"

"Because the apple never falls far from the tree! Scorpius will turn out just like his father, mark my words."

"Well if he does, then I'll discover it myself and you can feel free to gloat. Until that time, just don't judge him by his name alone, okay, **Albus Severus**?"

"Don't you-"

But Rose never got to discover what it was that Albus didn't want her to do, as the train had reached its final destination and crowds of students were clamouring off the Hogwarts Express in order to get the first coach - or in the case of first years, boat - that would take them up to the school. Walking away from Albus, Rose made her way down to the dock and was joined in a small boat by a couple of other girls who introduced themselves as Melinda Thomas and Veronica Roper.

--

The first sight of the castle was exactly as her parents had described it, Rose discovered. She knew that it had been badly damaged during the final battle in their seventh year, causing concerns over whether it would ever again open its doors to students. Those concerns, of course, had arisen solely in Daily Prophet articles by Rita Skeeter, who delighted in having a true tragedy to report for once. The castle had been rebuilt during the extended summer holiday that was given that year, and it looked just as it had done all those years ago when it was first built for the purpose of educating young witches and wizards. Looking at the other first years making their way across the lake, Rose could see that they all had the same reaction as her - a great feeling of awe followed by relief. Imposing as it might be, the castle of Hogwarts had the strangest homely appeal, as if it didn't matter what your background was or who your family might be - everybody was equally welcome.

Reaching the main doors, the group was welcomed by a man who Rose knew to be Neville Longbottom - Herbology professor and old friend of her parents. He ushered them in with a kindly smile on his face, and, telling them to follow him, led them into the Great Hall. Everyone's gaze was immediately drawn upward towards the magnificent ceiling which showed the stars in the night sky twinkling above them, and a bright full moon in clear sight. On the train, Rose hadn't had chance to properly judge just how many students there were at Hogwarts, now, walking down the centre of the Great Hall, it became obvious. On both sides of the line of first years hundreds of people were seated, divided between four house tables, all watching the new pupils. Once they had reached the front, the procession stopped and a three legged wooden stool was placed in front of them, upon which sat a frayed wizard's hat. Everybody fell silent.

The sorting was about to begin.

--

**(A/N: You know the drill. If you liked it, please review and tell me why! If you didn't like it...review and tell me why anyway! Also, little question for you - anybody know why the title, "First Impressions", is significant at all? Just something for you to ponder whilst waiting for an update...)**


	2. The Sorting

**A/N: So it's onto the sorting! Thanks for the reviews for the first chapter, extra thanks to anybody who's watching this story - hopefully I won't disappoint!  
Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter  
_**Disclaimer:** _I still don't own any of the Harry Potter characters, which is a shame really..._

--

"_Headmasters they have come and gone,  
__Since Hogwarts school began,  
__But still one thing has stayed the same,  
__Their everlasting plan._

_To train you young magicians,  
__To one day bring us pride,  
__Although you learn together,  
__At first I must divide._

_To Gryffindor the bravest souls,  
__Who will with courage thrive,  
__Their chivalry and strength of heart,  
__Will help them to survive._

_To Ravenclaw the brains must go,  
__Those with the greatest minds,  
__Who use common sense and logic,  
__For problems they might find._

_To Slytherin the cunning ones,  
__With means to suit their ends,  
__Ambition may seem fine at first,  
__But fame's a fickle friend._

_To Hufflepuff the loyal go,  
__The ones with largest hearts,  
__Those faithful souls prove every day,  
__Not all foes lose to smarts._

_So place me on your head held high,  
__And I shall do my best,  
__To put you where you most belong,  
__And Hogwarts does the rest."_

The Sorting song was a tradition, according to her parents, yet Rose still marvelled at the way a simple hat had such a good idea of what was happening around it, almost as if it was human. Once the song had finished, Neville - Professor Longbottom, she supposed she'd have to get used to calling him - stood up again and unfurled a long roll of parchment.

"Austen, Blake," he announced clearly, and a slightly nervous looking, mousy haired boy made his way to the front, placing the hat upon his head. After a few moments on consideration, Blake was sorted into Hufflepuff, where he was greeted by a warm round of applause. The sorting continued and the line of first years slowly diminished as more and more of them were placed into the houses that they would live in during their time at Hogwarts. Rose wondered which house she would be chosen for - was she really brave enough for Gryffindor? Place her anywhere near a spider and she certainly wasn't, although her father had coped well enough...

"Malfoy, Scorpius."

She looked up to see Scorpius headed towards the hat, mouthing something under his breath - probably mentally preparing himself for being in Slytherin, like all the Malfoys before him. He sat on the stool, shoulders slumped in resignation and awaited the decision. It seemed an age before the hat shouted out its choice...

"Ravenclaw!"

A period of silence followed this announcement. It seemed that everybody had been expecting this Malfoy to follow the family footsteps and become a Slytherin. The clapping only began once he was halfway to the Ravenclaw table where he sat, isolated, at the end nearest the aisle. When Albus' turn came, the hat had hardly touched his head before it shouted for him to become a Gryffindor. A look of relief washed over the boy's face - Rose knew that he harboured a secret fear of being sorted into Slytherin. Only a few people remained to be sorted now - the two girls who Rose had shared a boat with in the journey across to the castle were sorted into Gryffindor with Albus, leaving her and two other students. Part of her hoped that she would follow the Weasley tradition and join her cousins in Gryffindor, however looking over at the Ravenclaw table and seeing Scorpius still alone, although several more first years had joined the house, she found herself part wishing to be with him instead.

"Weasley, Rose."

With a sharp intake of breath, Rose made her way to the stool, her feet barely touching the floor when she sat on it. The hat was placed onto her head, and a voice filled her mind.

_"Hmm...another Weasley, this time with Granger blood. Your parents made excellent Gryffindors you know...oh yes, two of the greatest Gryffindors this school has seen...however I sense that deep down you do not wish to follow in their footsteps...I see great courage in you, but your intelligence and thirst for knowledge comes above all...only one place for you..._RAVENCLAW!_"_

The final word was spoken out loud to the whole of the school. Hopping off the stool, Rose looked for her cousins at the Gryffindor table - Albus and James seemed to be muttering to each other about the hat somehow making a mistake, but she made her way to the Ravenclaw table nevertheless, sitting herself down next to Scorpius, which earned her more strange looks from James, clearly the shock of a Ravenclaw Weasley had distracted Albus from telling him what had happened on the train.

--

"So...how does it feel?"

The plates in front of them had filled with food, and everybody had started eating and talking amongst themselves, however Rose had been so busy looking over at the Gryffindor table that she almost didn't hear Scorpius' question.

"How does **what** feel?" she replied, looking slightly confused.

"Defying tradition."

"It feels...it feels quite refreshing, actually. I don't have to worry about those two idiots," she pointed over to Albus and James, who had now dropped the confused act and were instead glaring daggers at her, "writing home to mum and dad about every little thing. How about you?"

"Well, father will be shocked, of course, but I dare say he'll cope. After all, it should end some of those reports that that Skeeter woman is writing, claiming that he's been teaching me the Unforgivables since I was 7 years old..." he broke off as Rose's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh don't worry, she's got it all wrong, as usual - I was actually only 6..."

"You can't be serious," Rose said, searching his face for any signs of it having been a joke. "**Please** tell me you're not being serious."

"Of course I'm not! Although I'm a bit offended that you thought I could be," Scorpius looked genuinely hurt and his eyes had darkened again until they appeared to be nearly black in colour.

"Sorry...it's just, you hear things, you know? About all the stuff that happened last time...I really **am **sorry," she added, when he didn't appear to have acknowledged her apology.

They finished their meal in silence.

--

**(A/N: Reviews? I figured putting Rose in Gryffindor and Scorpius in Slytherin would be a bit cliché/history repeating itself, so Ravenclaw seemed the best bet. The Sorting Hat's song took me forever to do, so hopefully it reads alright...Update once more will be whenever I've written it!) **


	3. The First Day

**A/N: Thanks to everybody who has reviewed so far - keep up the good work! This one's got a bit more Albus in! I'm not too fond of writing lessons, so they will probably all be quite short...or seemingly uneducational, anyway!  
Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter  
_**Disclaimer: **_Still don't own them. -sigh-_

--

Rose woke up feeling momentarily disorientated. The blue and bronze hangings that surrounded her were a far cry from the familiar sunshine yellow of her bedroom at home, and she could hear the low breathing of other people coming from beyond them. It was only when her feet hit the cold, flagstone floor that she remembered she was actually at Hogwarts. Glancing at the Muggle wristwatch that she had placed beside her bed before going to sleep, Rose noticed that it was still fairly early - although in many ways she was her father's daughter, she had at least managed to inherit Hermione's ability to wake herself up in the morning. Pulling on her robes, she drew back her curtains, noticing that the other girls in the room still had theirs closed. Taking great care not to disturb any of them, Rose made her way out of the dormitory and, upon meeting nobody else in the Ravenclaw common room, headed towards the Great Hall.

--

Although the four long house tables were set up, only a few students were seated at each one. Neither James nor Albus were awake yet, it appeared, as Rose couldn't see them seated at the Gryffindor table. Walking over to the Ravenclaw table, she spotted Scorpius, running his finger absent mindedly along the rim of his goblet of pumpkin juice. Although not a breakfast person herself, Rose picked up a plate, filling it with an odd combination of toast, fruit and sausages. She slid into the seat opposite Scorpius, pushing the plate towards him.

"Peace offering?" she said quietly.

Scorpius looked at her, one eyebrow raised quizzically.

"So an apology for implying that you believe I'm as black as my family is painted is to imply that you believe I'm a pig?"

"I said last night that I was sorry! And what pig do you know that eats sausages? That's practically cannibalism."

Scorpius opened his mouth to reply, but Rose looked so serious that he simply picked up a piece of toast, and, taking a bite, offered the rest of the plate to her.

"Apology accepted...and I'm sorry too."

"What for?"

"Well, firstly, for suggesting that pigs eat each other," he grinned and Rose smiled back. "But mainly for acting like a complete idiot yesterday. I guess family use of Dark Arts is something not to be joked about."

"Apology accepted."

The Great Hall was filling up with students by the time the two Ravenclaws had finished. As it was not yet time for first lesson to start, the pair headed out onto the grounds, determined to find their way to class without the usual crowds of students that were generally found milling around at the change of lesson bell.

--

The first lesson of the year was Herbology with the Gryffindors. Upon reaching Greenhouse One, where the teaching for first years would take place, Rose and Scorpius chose a table near the front of the class where they were joined by Albus. Before any of them had a chance to say anything, however, Neville entered.

"Welcome to Herbology," he began. "Now, as you're First Years, most of your work this year will be theory based, so if you could take out your quills and textbooks..."

Reaching down to retrieve his book from his bag, Albus whispered across to Rose,

_"You're determined to annoy Uncle Ron aren't you?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

_"First Weasley to be sorted anywhere other than Gryffindor...fraternising with the enemy..."_

_"The enemy? Where's all this coming from Al? I thought your dad had forgiven the Malfoys?"_

_"He __**has**__...it's just..."_

_"Just __**what**__?"_

_"Well, Mum's still a bit wary of them...she thinks Dad was a bit quick to put the whole thing behind him, they __**did**__ help Voldemort for years after all."_

_"Voldemort's been gone for nearly 20 years! Couldn't you at least __**try**__ to be civil to Scorpius?"_

_"I can __**try**__...can't promise anything though..."_

Neville was talking about Devil's Snare, a dangerous plant which hated sunlight and heat. Rose and Albus shared knowing glances - they had both been told countless times of their parents' encounter with the plant when they were only first years themselves. They both started scribbling down notes, Rose glancing over at Scorpius' parchment to make sure that she hadn't missed anything and Albus trying to decipher her neat, slanted writing in order to add to his own page.

"Want to read mine?" Scorpius offered, noticing that Albus seemed to be struggling to understand what Rose had put down. "I'm pretty much finished anyway."

Albus was about to decline, but a sharp kick from his cousin made him agree and he took the sheet of notes with a quiet "thanks". The three worked quietly until a bell sounded to signal the end of the lesson.

"Remember we've been invited to go see Hagrid tomorrow, Rose," Albus reminded her as he was packing his things back into his bag. "Come along if you want, Malfoy," he added, before leaving the greenhouse to get to his next lesson.

"Well that went as well as could be expected," Scorpius remarked. "Not exactly my biggest fan, is he?"

"Not really," replied Rose truthfully. "But he'll come round eventually. Maybe Hagrid can make him see sense - you will come tomorrow, won't you?"

"Of course - I've never met a half giant before, should be interesting."

--

The remainder of the day passed relatively uneventfully. Rose and Scorpius quickly discovered that History of Magic was in fact as dull as it had been made out to be by the older students - even Rose struggled to keep her eyes open as Professor Binns droned on about various Goblin leaders throughout history, finally relying on a Quick Quotes quill that had been bought for her by Ron, presumably for that very class. Hermione hadn't approved, of course, however her father had managed to sneak it into her trunk whilst she was busy lecturing Hugo about flying his broom in the house. Looking beside her, she noticed Scorpius practising turning his parchment into some form of bird - a crane, by the look of it. He managed to make it float a few centimetres off the desk, before it burst into flames and formed a pile of ashes in front of him.

Maybe it was meant to be a phoenix instead...

--

**(A/N: Review? That's about all I have to say for this chapter...)**


	4. A Visit To Hagrid's

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews so far! Keep 'em coming folks! I've just finished my rough plan for this fic - it's looking to be quite long actually if I stick to it!  
Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter  
_**Disclaimer:** _Much as I wish I did, I don't own any of the HP characters..._

--

A warm fire was blazing in Hagrid's hut when Albus, Rose and Scorpius entered - a welcome change from the chilly September breeze of the Hogwarts grounds. A dog basket lay in one corner and Rose was reminded of the large boarhound, Fang, who had passed away a few years ago of old age. Hagrid had vowed that he would never have another pet, although those who knew him knew that it would only be a matter of time before he took on something new - whether it was magical or not. Hagrid had let them into the hut, and then disappeared a little way into the forest, towards the paddock area, saying that he would be back soon and that they should make themselves at home. While she and Albus sat down happily at the table in the centre of the room, Scorpius looked a bit more wary, hovering nervously behind a chair instead.

"Oh come **on**," Rose sighed. "The chair isn't going to hurt you, you know."

"He said make yourself at home," Scorpius replied defensively. "At home I happen to prefer standing."

"Don't tell me you're **scared** of Hagrid?" Albus said, trying hard not to laugh. "I thought you knew he was half giant?"

"I did! Just...if he's **half **giant, exactly how big are **full** giants?"

"About 20 feet," Rose answered. "Give or take..."

"That was a rhetorical question."

--

The door flew open, and the large silhouette of Hagrid filled the gap, holding a squirming bundle in his arms.

"Sorry fer leavin' yer," he said. "Had ter go collect this little 'un. Been keepin' Witherwings company y'see."

He placed the thing that he had been holding onto the floor, where it immediately scampered over to where Scorpius was standing and sat gazing up at the blond boy, tail wagging furiously.

"Well would yer look at that," Hagrid chuckled. "He likes you! C'mere, Harry, there's a good boy."

"Um, Hagrid..." Albus began, getting up from his chair. "You named a _puppy_ after my _dad_?"

"Course I did! 'E's been so good to me, yer old man, figured I had to do summat to show my gratitude. Woulda named him after Professor Dumbledore, only you arrived firs', and I didn't think Brian was a very good name fer a dog..."

"But Harry **is**?" Albus muttered under his breath, causing him to receive a sharp dig in the ribs from Rose.

"I'm sure Harry will feel very honoured, aren't you Al?"

"Yeah, honoured, sure," Albus agreed, glaring at his cousin.

"What kind of dog is he, Hagrid?"

The question came from Scorpius, who was looking and sounding a lot more confident since the arrival of the puppy. Crouched down on the floor, he was busy playing tug of war with the new pet, who appeared to have claimed one of Hagrid's ties as a toy.

"Mostly Alsatian - far as they could tell anyway..." Hagrid replied, a broad grin on his face - apparently it didn't matter to Hagrid what your last name was, if you expressed an interest in his menagerie of interesting creatures you were alright in his opinion. "They found him abandoned when 'e was just a newborn, apparently."

"They say dogs are a good judge of character, don't they?" Rose asked innocently, watching how Harry was acting around her new friend. "Like they can tell when something's not quite right?"

"Most animals can, to tell you the truth, spose it's a bit more obvious with a dog though, yeah."

Rose looked at Albus, then across to Scorpius, then back to Albus again, a smug smile on her face. Albus rolled his eyes at her and started talking to Hagrid about their first couple of days at Hogwarts, making sure to avoid looking at his cousin again during their visit.

--

It was dark by the time the trio left Hagrid's hut, with a promise to visit him as often as they could throughout the year. They walked quickly back to the castle, eager to get back into the warmth of the common rooms. After taking a few detours thanks to Hogwarts' famous moving staircases, they eventually reached the seventh floor where they would go their separate ways - Scorpius and Rose heading towards the Ravenclaw Common Room, and Albus towards Gryffindor. They had only taken a few steps, however, when Albus turned and called back to them.

"Malfoy? Can I have a word?"

Scorpius looked surprised, however he told Rose to go on without him anyway, assuring her that he'd be right behind her. Rose continued on her way to the common room, slightly concerned about what it was that her cousin would need to talk to Scorpius about - surely he wouldn't be stupid enough to challenge him to a duel in full view of anybody who might still be making their way back to their respective towers?

--

The silence between the two boys seemed to last for an eternity. Albus paced about the hallway, inspecting the different portraits hanging on the walls, while Scorpius watched him, a slight look of impatience on his face.

"Look, have you got something to say to me or not?" he finally asked, as Albus studied a picture of a group of monks for what must have been the twentieth time. "Only, if you haven't, I've got things I could be doing right about now -"

"You and Rose are friends, right?" Albus cut in, abrubtly.

"Um, yeah, I'd say we are anyway," Scorpius replied, caught slightly off guard by the sudden question. "Thought you knew that?"

"I...I did. It's just...well, if you two are going to be **friends**, it means you and me..."

"...are going to be seeing an awful lot of one another."

"**Exactly**. And that means..."

"...that we're going to actually have to talk to one another."

"**Yes**! So to be able to do that, I wanted to..."

"...apologise for believing that my family is scum, although you're still thinking it secretly anyway."

"**Yeah -** wait, no! I mean...yes to the first part, no to the second, you know?"

"I think so," Scorpius said, laughing. "You really are **terrible** at apologising, did you know that?"

"Yep."

--

**(A/N: Review? I'm not sure whether I went a bit over the top with Hagrid's speech or not...I might in future just write him speaking normally, what do you think? As for the dog called Harry...I had to do it. My brain wouldn't let me continue until I had!)**


	5. Expelliarmus!

**A/N: Not a lot to say at the moment, thanks for all the reviews so far!  
Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter  
_**Disclaimer: **_Anything that looks like it belongs to JKR, does. Anything that doesn't look like it belongs to JKR, belongs to me, such as the new DADA teacher. _

--

"Do not be fooled," Professor Milton began. "Just because the Wizarding World is in a time of peace now, doesn't mean that it always will be. The Dark Arts is perhaps _the_ biggest temptation that you could come up against, which is why even in these days Hogwarts wishes you to be as prepared as possible if you ever encounter it. Now, can anybody tell me what **one** spell is most useful if under attack from another witch or wizard?"

Rose's hand shot into the air immediately, causing Scorpius in the seat next to her to roll his eyes. After the first few days, it had become obvious to everybody - students and teachers alike - that Rose Weasley was almost exactly like her mother during her own first year. Hers was always the first hand raised when a question was asked, which would have made her the subject of much ridicule if it weren't for the fact that she was also the only one to ask the questions that everybody wanted the answers to, but nobody dared ask themselves.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"_Expelliarmus_, the disarming spell."

"Correct! 10 points to Ravenclaw," Milton replied. "Yes, _Expelliarmus_ is particularly useful if you wish to render a person defenceless without actually harming them - for example if you are participating in a Wizard Duel, or being attacked by somebody you know to be under the _Imperio_ curse. _Expelliarmus_ also gives you time to plot your next move without having to worry about what spell will be thrown at you next. Split into pairs, and practice using the spell on each other - don't worry, Mr. Austen, you'll be perfectly safe," he concluded, addressing this final point to a nervous looking Hufflepuff who Rose remembered from the Sorting.

"You ready?" Scorpius asked. "Try to disarm each other on the count of three?"

Looking around she saw him standing, wand already raised, determination etched across his face. Drawing her own, she stood opposite him, looking slightly bored, if anything.

"One...two..."

"_Expelliarmus_!"

Scorpius' wand flew out of his hand and slid towards Rose, who bent down to pick it up, offering it back to him.

"What happened to 'on the count of three'?" he grumbled, taking it from her.

"Well I thought it's best to be realistic, even if it _is_ only practice, and last I heard, dark witches and wizards don't actually _give_ you that long to -"

"_Expelliarmus_!"

This time it was Rose's wand that flew out of her hand, and Scorpius that picked it up. She looked at him, puzzled.

"You see, last **I **heard, you don't go giving dark witches or wizards their wands back," Scorpius explained, smirking slightly. "I mean _it's best to be realistic _afterall."

Professor Milton, who was passing at the time, smiled at him and awarded Ravenclaw an extra 10 points for taking things seriously. Rose punched him lightly on the arm.

"_That was my idea!_"

"_Ravenclaw still got the points didn't it?_"

--

"You staying at Hogwarts for Christmas?" Rose asked from her fireside seat in the Ravenclaw Common Room, Defence Against the Dark Arts had been the last lesson of the winter term.

She had claimed the tatty armchair as her own pretty quickly, nobody had had any objections - it was quite possibly the most uncomfortable piece of furniture in the room, and it was a mystery how she was able to look so relaxed whilst sat in it. Only Scorpius knew about the secret cushioning charm that she had used on the chair - complete with an extra charm to prevent anybody else sitting comfortably on it, ensuring that whenever they entered the Common Room she had a place to curl up and read whatever book she was in the middle of at the time.

"Think so - mother wanted me to go home, of course, but father thinks it will do me good to stay here. Character building, he called it," Scorpius replied from where he was sat on the blue rug that had been placed in front of the roaring fire. "You?"

"Well I told mum that I wanted to explore the library properly - Neville said he'd give me a note to allow me to look in the Forbidden Section. Mum says that's where they keep all the interesting books."

"It's called Forbidden for a _reason_ you know..."

"Well if it was a _good_ reason they wouldn't let teachers hand out permission slips to anybody who asks, would they?"

"Rose Weasley - able to find a loophole in _everything_."

"Well it's not like I'm going to be using the books for anything evil, am I?" Rose asked, throwing a nearby copy of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" at Scorpius when he looked slightly hesitant.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his head where the corner of the book had hit him. "I'm pretty sure chucking books at innocent people counts as evil, you know!"

"Good thing I only threw it at _you_ then isn't it?" came the reply.

--

True to her word, Rose spent most of the Christmas holiday in the library, reading pretty much anything she could get her hands on. Even Madam Pince, the librarian, came to tolerate her - which was a high honour indeed, as most of her time was spent shooing people away for minor offences such as eating chocolate near a book. Learning that his cousin was staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, Albus had put his name down as well, reluctant to spend two weeks at home with nobody his own age to talk to. It was only when he and Scorpius dragged her away from her quiet spot to go visit Hagrid, or take part in a snowball fight, that Rose would actually leave the library before nightfall, and she began to wonder when the two boys had become so civil towards each other - although it was definitely an improvement on the beginning of the year, **that** she **did** know.

--

As always, the fortnight flew by, and, before they knew it, the trio were back in lessons, their first year at Hogwarts almost at an end. Time at Hogwarts had the strangest way of moving forward and leaving its students behind - June appeared to creep up on everybody unexpectedly, and pretty soon the traditional house point ceremony was only a week away. Unlike most years, where it was a close competition between Gryffindor and Slytherin, this year everybody knew that either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw would emerge the victors.

Only time would tell...

--

**(A/N: So, their First Year is almost over...that's about all I have to say for this chapter. Reviews?) **


	6. The Return Journey

**A/N: Slightly shorter update this time, just mainly to round off the First Year at Hogwarts!  
Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter  
_**Disclaimer: **_I. Do. Not. Own. Any. Of. The. Canon. Characters. _

--

The final assembly seemed to last an eternity - although the new Headmaster was generally well liked, he had an annoying habit of saying in ten lines what most people could say in one. All the same, the students sat quietly through his speech, waiting for the moment when the house points would be announced.

"In fourth place," he announced, "with 320 points, is Hufflepuff."

A polite round of applause followed, then everybody fell silent once more to listen to the other results.

"In third place, with 400 points, is Slytherin."

Glancing over at the Slytherin table, Rose noticed that many of the older students looked outraged at this - most years Slytherin would finish second, if not top, of the school when it came to points. She supposed that it wouldn't be long before whispers of a conspiracy began circulating the school - that the children of the "saviour" of the wizarding world and his accomplices were getting special treatment simply due to their parents' high status.

"In second place, with 430 points - Gryffindor House, which means that this year's House Cup is awarded to Ravenclaw, with 450 points!"

He waved his wand, and Ravenclaw banners unfurled from where they hung on the walls, and the Great Hall erupted in cheers.

"Not bad for our first year," Scorpius commented, watching a firey Eagle circle the room above their heads, conjured by what looked to be a fifth year sitting further down the table. "Might soften the blow for father, he wasn't exactly over the moon when I told him I wasn't in Slytherin..."

"By 'not exactly over the moon' you mean...?" Rose replied.

"Threatened to disown me at first, then I reminded him he had promised not to if I was in Ravenclaw, and he settled for demanding a resort if we didn't win the House Cup this year."

"So nothing drastic then..."

--

The train pulled away from Hogsmeade Station, and eventually even Hagrid's large frame looked small. The scarlet engine began to wind its way through the Scottish countryside, and after a while Hogwarts castle was no longer visible from the window of the compartment that Rose, Scorpius and Albus had chosen to sit in for the return journey.

"So..." Scorpius began, attempting to break the awkward silence that had settled between the trio. Although he and Albus were acting civil towards each other, they still only talked to each other when absolutely necessary, and usually never when it was just the two of them. Nevertheless, he felt he had to make an effort. "How does it feel, going back home?"

"Incredible," Albus replied, grinning. "Six weeks of no lessons, being able to wake up whenever you like..."

"Which, if you'd have it your way, would be _the day before we return_," Rose added dryly. "I don't know how you can do it, Al."

"What can I say? It's a gift."

"Yeah, well, you might want to think about _returning_ this one. You can't spend the _entire summer_ sleeping, why don't you read Hogwarts A History - get a bit of research in about the school whilst you have the chance? You agree, don't you Scorpius?"

The warring cousins turned to face him, and he looked slightly hesitant.

"Well...holidays _are _for relaxing, Rose. But you know what they say about too much of a good thing," he added hastily as she glared at him.

"So what are _you_ planning to do then, Malfoy?" Albus asked.

"Quidditch practice of course, we're allowed to join the house teams next year after all."

"Didn't think you were the Quidditch type!"

"Are you _kidding me_?"

The two boys trailed off into a long winded discussion about different teams, positions, and something called a "Wonky Faint" - or at least that's what it sounded like to Rose. Pulling out a copy of 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One', she began reading, trying her best to ignore the debate currently taking place about whether the Chudley Cannons would ever win a trophy.

"_Boys_," she muttered exasperatedly under her breath.

--

After several hours, the Hogwarts Express pulled up at Kings Cross Station and students began piling onto the platform, all searching for their parents in the crowd. Spotting Hermione and Ginny deep in conversation near the magical entrance to the platform, Albus tugged on Rose's robes to get her attention and pointed over towards them.

"Make sure you write to me," she told Scorpius. To his surprise, when he had promised that he would keep in touch, she gave him a quick hug before walking off with her cousin, laughing about something that he couldn't quite hear. He watched as the pair were reunited with their mothers, who both looked truly happy to see their children again. He turned away as they went through the brick wall back into Muggle London and began searching for his own parents, who he eventually discovered standing a little way back from the majority of the crowd that had gathered nearer the train. Pulling his trunk behind him, he made his way over to them, where he was greeted with a kiss from his mother and a slightly confused look from his father.

"Was that the Weasley girl?" he asked his son, indicating the spot near the wall that Rose had disappeared through.

--

"Was that the Malfoy boy with you when you got off the train?" Hermione asked Rose once they were in the car. Ginny and Albus had gone to meet Harry at the Ministry itself, leaving the two to make their own way to The Burrow.

--

It was going to be a long summer.

--

**(A/N: You know a great way to spend your time whilst waiting for an update? Review! What was good, what was bad and what could be improved when Second Year rolls around?  
****Next couple of chapters - Summer chez Weasley and Summer chez Malfoy. Look out for an update sometime in the next couple of days!)**


	7. The Burrow

**A/N: Been wondering how Ron was going to react to his daughter being friends with a Malfoy? Wonder no more!  
Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter  
_**Disclaimer: **_If I owned them, it wouldn't be called FANfiction now would it?_

--

_"Was that the Malfoy boy that you came off the train with?"_

--

Rose looked at her mother. The way she had asked hadn't seemed accusing, more of a genuine curiosity.

"Yeah, that was Scorpius," she answered somewhat cautiously.

"There's no need to sound so worried, petal. I personally think it's great that you two are getting along..."

She trailed off, and Rose knew that she was wondering what Ron would say when he heard the news. The rest of the journey was spent silently, and soon enough the familar shape of The Burrow appeared in the distance. Molly had insisted that all of her grandchildren spent at least the first few weeks of their holidays with her, now that her own children were grown up and working a lot of the time. James would be joining them in a couple of days - he had been invited to a friends' house for their birthday at the beginning of the holiday. Getting out of the car, Rose took a deep breath before setting foot in the house.

The moment of truth had arrived.

--

"Is everybody ready?" Molly called from in the kitchen.

As it was a clear day, dinner was being served in the large garden that surrounded the main house. A large table had been set up to accommodate everybody, and a dozen or so paper lanterns floated in the air above everybody's heads. Harry and Ginny had arrived a couple of hours earlier with Albus, who shot a questioning look at Rose, which she took to mean had she told Ron about Scorpius yet. Shaking her head, she looked down at the rest of the people gathered around the table. Her brother, Hugo, was sat nearer the end, talking to Lily - probably about Hogwarts again. Bill and Fleur were next to them, with Victoire and Teddy opposite. Rose herself was sat next to her father, although she had tried at first to sit farther away, Ron had decided that as she had stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas he needed all the time with her that he could get. Molly came out of the house, a line of hovering dishes following her, which she directed towards the middle of the table. Everybody started filling their plates, none so much as Ron, however, who had clearly decided that it was an insult to not have his plate piled high with food.

"So, 'ow was school?" he asked Rose, taking a large bite of chicken. Molly glared at him, but he appeared not to notice.

"It was great, daddy," she replied. "It was strange at first, being in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor, like Albus, but at least I have Scorpius to keep me company..."

She said the last part quickly, and started eating her own meal, glancing up every now and again to look at her father, hoping that perhaps he hadn't heard her. His chewing slowed, and his face grew steadily redder until it appeared he couldn't hold whatever it was he wanted to say in for much longer.

"Scorpius **Malfoy**?" he said in disbelief. "As in **Draco Malfoy's** offspring? As in the person I **specifically** asked you not to be friends with?"

"One and the same. But daddy -"

"Don't 'but daddy' me, Rose. What the hell were you thinking? You know what that family is like, what they've done..."

"Ron..." Hermione whispered from the other side of him, placing her hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him down. "Remember where we are..."

"I don't bloody well care! No daughter of mine is going to associate with a **Malfoy**!"

"Calm down, Ron," Harry said from where he was sitting opposite his best friend. "Draco's alright now, his wife must have knocked a bit of sense into him. From what I've heard of Scorpius he's nothing like Draco was at Hogwarts."

"You're only saying that because you have to work with him every day!"

"Exactly. Therefore I'm more qualified to judge him, aren't I?"

"But it's not your daughter that his son is cosying up to, is it?"

"Dad!" Rose protested, but she was silenced by Ron.

"Now I bet Albus agrees with me, don't you Al?"

"Actually..." the boy began, not quite meeting his uncle's eyes. "Well Scorpius isn't all that bad, Uncle Ron..."

Rose stared at her father pleadingly, willing for him to change his mind.

"When did this family turn into a bunch of bloody Malfoy supporters?" Ron groaned.

Nobody dared mention the name Malfoy in Ron's presence for the rest of the holidays, and he pretended to ignore the eagle owl that was constantly arriving at the house bringing letters for Rose from Scorpius.

--

As James had refused, Albus persuaded Rose to help him practice for the Quidditch try outs that were taking place at the beginning of the school year. The large field at the back of the Burrow was a perfect place to practice flying, and after a couple of hours of being unsure on her broom, Rose discovered that she quite liked flying. When she was high enough up, the people on the ground looked the size of ants, and she could forget about the world, forget about everything that was going on below her. Tying her hair into a loose plait to stop it being blown into her face, she and Albus spent several hours each day throwing a football to each other - although Harry had been a seeker, Albus decided that he wanted to try out for chaser instead, worrying that he would never quite manage to live up to the Potter name as far as Quidditch was concerned. Rose still insisted that she wouldn't be trying out for the Ravenclaw team, but promised that she would be there at all of Albus' matches, cheering him on from the stands.

--

The rest of the holidays at The Burrow were spent in much the same way, until the time came for the yearly trip to Diagon Alley just before the start of September. Pretty soon Rose and Albus would be boarding the Hogwarts Express once more, heading off to their second year at the school.

--

**(A/N: Thanks to all the lovely people who have reviewed so far! Keep them coming! Next chapter we see the Malfoy reaction...)**


	8. Malfoy Manor

**A/N: Another update! This time its summer at the Malfoys...enjoy!  
Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter  
_**Disclaimer: **_Still don't own them..._

--

_"Was that the Weasley girl?"_

--

His father was still looking at him, waiting for an answer. Sensing Scorpius' hesitation, his mother pushed his trunk towards Draco and started walking towards the barrier, signalling for her son to follow her.

"Now, now, Draco, at least give the lad some time to settle in before you start interrogating him!"

"I only want to know -"

A sharp look from his wife prevented him from saying any more. Lisa Malfoy had the same intimidating presence as her husband when she wanted to, however the majority of the time she was the voice of reason in the Malfoy household. She had been thrilled to hear that her son was sorted into Ravenclaw, having been one herself in her days at Hogwarts. Although a pure blood, Lisa had no interest in the long running feud between high ranking wizarding families and muggleborn witches or wizards - she supposed it was only this that made her husband so wary of the possibility of his son associating with a Weasley, especially the daughter of two of his rivals from Hogwarts.

--

Malfoy Manor hadn't changed much since it had been owned by Lucius. The only noticeable difference was the absence of the pure white peacocks in the gardens - Lisa had thought them pretentious, and Draco secretly agreed. The large dining room, with its stone walls and floors, might initially appear to be cold, however with a large fireplace dominating the far wall it was anything but. Once Scorpius had taken his trunk up to his bedroom, he joined his parents for dinner and to tell them about his first year - the subject of his friendship with Rose, he assumed, would not be one that could be ignored.

--

"So, son -"

"Upset about not being sorted into Slytherin?" Scorpius' mother cut in, stopping Draco from completing his question.

"Not really...I quite like being in Ravenclaw, actually," he replied, smiling at her.

"I'm glad. Do you still have to answer those riddles to get into the common room?"

"Yeah, they're all easy at the moment though."

"Just wait until you get further up the school...some things that door comes up with...near enough impossible some of the time!"

"Scorpius," Draco began, looking to his wife to make sure he wouldn't be interrupted again. She nodded her head, albeit grudgingly, and sat waiting to defend her son if Draco went too far over the top. "_Was_ that the Weasley girl at the station?"

"Yes, father."

"You do _remember_ what I told you about the Weasleys, don't you, son?"

"Yes, but -"

"But _what_?"

"But Rose isn't at all like you made the Weasleys out to be! For a start, she's in Ravenclaw, like me, not Gryffindor with the rest of them. Plus she's probably the smartest person in our year..."

"She would be, with her mother," Draco replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Never could beat Granger. I'd be lying if I said I was happy about this...this friendship..."

He paused, and Scorpius looked worriedly at his mother, who gave him an encouraging smile.

"Father..."

"...but it appears I'm outvoted, doesn't it?" Draco concluded. "Just don't expect me to invite the whole family around for Christmas dinner, will you? I suspect her father still dislikes me, although Potter and Granger seem civil enough these days."

--

Later that evening, when Scorpius had gone to study his Herbology textbook, Lisa and Draco were sat in the main lounge, watching the flames flicker in the fireplace.

"Well done," Lisa whispered to her husband, playing with a strand of his hair. "I thought you were going to completely ballistic."

"Don't be fooled, if he goes getting any ideas about anything other than friendship with that girl, I will. At the moment...well there's not much I can do to stop them being friends, seeing as that blasted hat put him in Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin!"

His wife hit him playfully on the shoulder, feigning being insulted. It had been a mystery to several people as to why Draco had chosen an ex-Ravenclaw for his wife, when in his own Slytherin there was Pansy Parkinson - the girl who would do anything for him, or herself for that matter. After she had been willing to give up Harry Potter to Voldemort, Draco realised that Pansy really didn't take anybody else's feelings into consideration, so perhaps **wasn't** the perfect wife that everybody else thought she would be for him. He had met Lisa Turpin, as she had been known then, at the ministry where he now worked. Although he didn't completely remember her from their years at Hogwarts, it didn't take long for him to realise that the blonde witch wasn't going to stand for any of his attitude. He had heard people talk about how his marriage had changed him, and he supposed they were right. He was now able to hold a civil conversation with Harry and Hermione, although Ron was still a challenge. Perhaps his son's friendship with Ron's daughter would help bridge the gap?

--

Scorpius, like Rose and Albus, spent most of his holiday in the air. Draco had taught him from very early on how to ride a broom, and when he wasn't busy at work he would join his son to help him get some proper Quidditch practice done. Lisa would always watch them from the ground, where she sat reading one book or another, and they both loved to swoop down over her head when she least expected it, startling her.

_Boys will be boys_, she thought with a smile, _no matter how mature they claim to be..._

--

The weeks passed quickly, and soon enough it was time to be boarding the Hogwarts Express again. His father hadn't been too bad, after all, and Scorpius wondered how Rose's parents had reacted, her letters always seemed to have skipped over the part where she told them, and he had started to wonder whether she had simply neglected to mention him to them. He'd find out soon enough.

--

**(A/N: I had Draco marry Lisa Turpin because 1 - She's a semi established canon character, so there was something to build on and 2 - I couldn't remember if I had actually mentioned anywhere that Scorp's mother was a Ravenclaw, so to be on the safe side I did my research and found one just in case! (admittedly, I also can't see him having married Pansy, because Harry would probably have recognised her in the Epilogue and she would have been mentioned by name...)  
Review? Next chapter...Second Year arrives!)**


	9. Second Year Begins

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Chapters will get longer in time, or I'll try to make them longer anyway!  
Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter  
_**Disclaimer: **_Wish I owned them...but I don't._

--

Sitting on the edge of her bed and looking around the circular room, Rose realised how much she had actually missed Hogwarts when she was at home. It wasn't that she hadn't **enjoyed** the holidays - on the contrary, flying with Albus had given her a much needed break from studying, and she loved seeing her family again - but there was just something about the school that drew you in, made you long to be back, even if you didn't realise it at the time.

On the train journey, her and Scorpius had exchanged stories of their parents' reactions to their being friends - his appeared to have taken it much better than Ron had, although that wasn't particularly difficult. Bringing up the subject of the Malfoys around him was still a bad idea, even though he had had the whole summer to get used to it. Rose wondered if he would ever be able to forgive Scorpius' father for whatever petty offence he still held him responsible for, but she knew it was unlikely.

The noise of an alarm sounding broke into her thoughts, followed by a large thud that seemed to come from the bottom of the stairs. Picking up her wand, Rose slowly walked down the spiral staircase, struggling to repress a laugh when she reached the bottom. Scorpius lay in a heap on the floor, glaring at the look of amusement on her face.

"Care to explain?" she asked, reaching out a hand to help him up. He waved her hand away and picked himself up, dusting down his robes and checking on his wand that he had in his pocket.

"I was just going to see if you were coming to the Great Hall for dinner," he said, kicking the bottom step. "When these stupid things turned into a slide and stopped me!"

Rose smirked slightly. "I thought you'd read Hogwarts A History?"

"I have!" Scorpius replied, looking puzzled. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well if you'd read it **properly** then you'd know that there are security charms on all the girls dormitories! I suppose they decided that boys couldn't be trusted not to barge in on us when we didn't want them to."

"That's a bit unfair!" Scorpius protested. "What makes people think that all boys are like that?"

"Because they are?"

"No they're not!"

"Remind me again why you were on the stairs?"

"I was going to...oh, shut up!"

"You're only saying that because I'm right."

The pair left the common room, still bickering slightly over whether the people who put the charms in place were actually being sexist when they did so, or, to use Scorpius' exact words, whether they just "_weren't getting any, so wanted to punish everyone else for their own damn frustration,_" which caused Rose to hit him lightly over the head for being ridiculous - although thinking about it later, she supposed he might have had a point...

--

Potions still took place in the dungeons of Hogwarts, where little light was allowed into the classroom. To counter this, however, several clusters of candles were positioned around the walls, and to keep the chill away, the Potions Professor - Horace Slughorn - kept a fire blazing away at the front of the room. There were about twenty cauldrons in the room, placed onto ten double desks. As with many lessons, Rose and Scorpius usually chose a table near the front of the room, however today they sat nearer the back - anxious to avoid a particularly foul smelling potion that Slughorn had in a cauldron on his desk.

"What the hell **is** that?" Scorpius asked Rose quietly. "Smells like something's **died**!"

"Swelling Solution, mum told me that she studied it second year, she didn't warn me about the stench though..."

Once Slughorn was happy that everybody was seated and paying attention, he began the lesson. The general method didn't sound too complicated, Rose thought, although she could have sworn she saw Scorpius wince every now and again when a slightly more difficult part of the process was explained. She discovered that she was right when the time came for them to actually make the potion themselves - more than once she had to stop him overdoing the ingredients and causing himself, or her for that matter, an injury.

"Sorry." He smiled apologetically at her. "Potions isn't **exactly** my forté."

"I noticed," she replied dryly, using her wand to siphon up the salamandar blood that he had knocked over accidentally when reaching for the puffer fish eyes.

--

When Potions was over - thankfully without any accidents - the students made their way up to the ground floor, noticing a large crowd of people around the notice board. Scorpius and Rose hung back slightly, not wanting to have to force their way to the front in order to see what was going on. Albus pushed his way through to where they were stood, his green eyes filled with excitement.

"Quidditch try-outs," he explained. "They're all taking place next week. You gonna go for it, Rose?"

"I already told you I'm not!"

"Give me one good reason why."

"Because..." Rose searched her brain for something that could keep her from playing Quidditch, but found nothing. "Because I don't want to!"

"But you're an excellent flier! And don't say you're not," he added as she opened her mouth to protest. "I was with you this summer, remember?"

Scorpius looked at her amazedly, she had failed to mention that particular aspect of her summer.

"I didn't know you could fly!" he exclaimed. "You've got to put that to good use, surely!"

"Being able to fly doesn't necessarily mean I can play Quidditch," Rose reasoned.

"Yeah, but you managed just fine when you were playing against me," Albus replied.

"I'm still not going to try for the team."

The two boys stared at her, but she just folded her arms defiantly.

"I'm not doing it."

"Please?"

"No."

"For **Ravenclaw**?" Scorpius added.

"No."

"To shut us up?" Albus suggested, hopefully.

"Tempting...but no."

Scorpius and Albus sighed resignedly and glanced at each other. It looked as if they would never get Rose to agree with them, no matter how hard they tried.

--

**(A/N: Reviews?)**


	10. Quidditch

**A/N:**_ Been a while since I last updated - recently started college so I've had a fair bit of work to do and settling in etc., hopefully I'll be able to focus on this a bit more than I have done the past few weeks! There's something not quite right about this chapter, but I can't quite put my finger on it so I apologise if it doesn't read very well! I'll try and make chapters a bit longer from now on.  
_**Main Characters:**_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter  
_**Disclaimer:** _I wish I owned the HP universe, but sadly I don't, so anything you recognise isn't mine. Stuff you don't recognise probably is though._

--

She had to give him credit, Rose thought, watching Scorpius score his fifth goal in a row, the boy **could** fly. She had promised to go watch him trying out, even if she wasn't planning on trying herself - moral support, he called it, although given his obvious talent at the game, Rose wondered whether "showing off" was the most relevant phrase for it. He and Albus had spent the past week trying to convince her that she should go for it, but to no avail.

--

_"Think of it as extra credit!" Scorpius suggested on the way back to the Ravenclaw Common Room. "It's just another way for you to win house points really."_

She did enjoy the competition the house cup presented, and the idea of Quidditch being another way to help towards this had almost tempted her to join in, but Scorpius' next words had put her off again.

_"There's only a slight chance of injury...it's a challenge!"_

Challenges should be limited to academics, Rose had decided, her mind once more firmly against the idea of trying out for the team.

_"Your dad played for his house team," Albus had reminded her. "You'd be keeping up an age old family tradition!"_

That was true, not to mention the fact that most of the Weasley family had been a part of quidditch - Aunt Ginny even played for the Holyhead Harpies! Traditions were there to be kept, after all.

_"But I suppose Aunt Hermione was never very interested, was she? I suppose you'll just end up like her instead."_

--

Blowing his whistle, the captain, Peter Davies, signalled for all the students to gather in front of him so that he could announce the team. Rose made her way towards them so that she would be able to hear properly.

"If that's everybody..."

"I want to try out."

The words were out of her mouth before she realised what she was saying, and she walked towards the front of the group, looking slightly embarrassed. Davies looked at her impatiently.

"Have you even got a broom with you?"

"Not exactly..."

"She can borrow mine," Scorpius offered, holding it out to her.

"Go on then," Davies conceded, throwing the Quaffle to her and signalling to a burly looking fifth year. "Martin, back in position."

Rose flew up to the goalposts and hovered for a while, trying to figure out the best way to get the ball past the keeper. The middle hoop would be impossible, she concluded, she'd have to try one of the sides, but which way to go...?

Five perfect goals later and Davies blew his whistle again. Rose sped back down to the ground, convinced that her last shot had only gone in because it hit the keeper on the way, and wondering whether perhaps her second was more due to the wind that was blowing than what she had done.

"I think..." Davies began slowly, "that we have just found one of our new chasers."

--

"Stop it."

Rose glared at Scorpius who was sitting opposite her at the table, a smug smile on his face.

"Stop what?"

"Smirking."

"This isn't smirking," he stated in a matter of fact kind of way, reaching for the jug of pumpkin juice to refill his goblet. "Trust me, I'm an expert on the subject of smirking." "

"So if it's not a smirk, what is it?"

"This is my 'I told you so' face."

"What **exactly** did you tell me?"

"That you should try out for the team!"

Rose sighed defeatedly. There was no way she could deny it, if it weren't for Albus and Scorpius she probably wouldn't even have considered attempting to join the Quidditch team, but she knew that now she **had**, they were never going to let her forget that it was all down to them. Scorpius had become a chaser as well, and Albus wasn't due to try out for Gryffindor until the next day. There was little doubt in her mind as to whether he would get on the team, and she wondered what the first Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor match was going to be like - cousin versus cousin.

As it turned out, Rose would have to wait until at least third year to face her cousin on the Quidditch pitch. An accident with his own Swelling Solution in Potions the next morning left him with one hand severely swollen, and, for some reason, the normal shrinking solution was not returning it to its usual state. He was sent to the hospital wing instead, and was forced to remain there for the majority of the day, causing him to miss the try outs. When Rose went to visit him, Madam Pomphrey had managed to shrink his hand, but it had come too late - all the places had been filled on the Gryffindor team, and unless somebody dropped out unexpectedly, Albus' hopes were dashed for at least a year. He acted as if it didn't bother him, but Rose could tell from the look on his face that he was only pretending for her sake.

"There's always next year, Rose," he said, looking at the cold stone floor of the hospital wing. "I'll just concentrate on improving my lessons this year so I have more time for Quidditch next year."

"You sure you're going to be alright?" she asked him, looking concerned. "I mean, you practiced all summer..."

"Just think - by missing out this year, I'll know exactly how you play so I can beat you next time!"

"You wish!"

--

**A/N:** _Thank you **so much** for all the reviews so far - I really appreciate them! Keep up the good work!_


	11. Boggarts and Bugbears

**A/N:** _Ok, so I've decided to skip ahead to Third Year, partially because I think there's only so much you can do with the first two years, seeing as there's only certain lessons students actually take, and partially because I have some scenes written for 5th && 6th, which I really want to use sooner rather than later. Plus, I know it's been a while since I last updated, so I figure the least I can do is get the story moving along a little quicker. Apologies for screwing with time like this!  
_**Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy  
_**Disclaimer:**_ So much time has gone by, so in case you've forgotten I don't own the characters._

--

Scorpius had been warned about Boggarts over the holidays. His father was still unhappy about him having to face one in his third year, still wanting to protect the Malfoy image of being fearless, but his mother merely explained that it was nothing to worry about. Scorpius still wondered how a creature could know a fear that even he was unaware of, but waiting in line in Defence Against The Dark Arts he began to look forward to his turn in front of the cupboard.

"How could anyone be afraid of owls?" Rose whispered from where she was stood behind him. "Especially in a place like this!"

Scorpius looked towards the front of the classroom, where, true enough, Hester Franklin's boggart had taken the familiar form of a barn owl. The girl just stood there frozen, until all of a sudden she seemed to come to her senses and uttered "riddikulus" - completely de-feathering the bird, making it unable to fly.

"That's just plain cruel," Rose frowned.

"Relax, Rosie, it's not a _real_ bird - remember?" Scorpius said, smiling slightly.

"It's the principle of things," she replied. "It shows that she finds it funny, regardless of whether the bird's real or not."

Scorpius shook his head with a chuckle as he moved forward to face the closet. Whatever was in there to face him, he wouldn't act as stupidly as people had done before him. It wasn't real. It couldn't hurt him. What was the big deal?

"Ready, Malfoy?" the professor asked, one hand on the door handle. Scorpius nodded in reply, holding his wand steadily in front of him.

A silence fell across the room as a tall, thin figure stepped out of the wardrobe. He straightened up, walking towards Scorpius purposefully, one long finger outstretched, and when he spoke, a shiver ran down the spine of everyone present.

_"You are ready at last,"_ he said in a high voice tinged with glee. _"After all these years, I shall be great again, and you, you shall be at my side every step of the way."_

Scorpius' eyes grew wider, and he took a tentative step towards the figure, looking at him as if he were something from a dream. "No, you're...you're **dead**..."

_"Just give me your arm, boy," _the man coaxed. _"I can give you everything you ever wished for and more - all I ask is that you join me."_

"No..."

_"Your family have always been my most loyal companions, my most trusted advisors. You could be just like your..."_

"I'M NOT MY FATHER!" Scorpius shouted defiantly, dropping his wand as he turned and ran from the classroom. The professor pointed his wand at the boggart, which had transformed into a harmless frog in front of him, and returned it to the closet which it had been housed in.

"I think that's enough for today," he announced, his voice shaking slightly. "Class dismissed."

--

It felt like Rose had scoured the entire castle, high and low, looking for Scorpius, but there was still no sign of him. Walking through the grounds on the off chance that he might have taken refuge near the lake, she glanced upwards and caught a glimpse of a person with white-blond hair stood on the top of the Astronomy Tower. Muttering mutinously, she made her way back into the school and began the long climb up the moving staircases that would lead her to the tower.

--

"You're brilliant at hide and go seek, you know," Rose stated as she walked out onto the tower. "I've been looking for you for hours."

Scorpius turned around to face her, eyes a darker shade of grey than she had ever seen them before. "Sorry."

"You dropped this, by the way," she added, handing him his wand. "You should be more careful."

"Sorry."

Rose's eyes narrowed as she looked at her friend, and she closed the door to the spiral staircase behind her, whispering what sounded like an incantation under her breath whilst pointing her wand at the lock. She lowered herself down until she was sitting on the cold flagstones, and stared up at Scorpius as if waiting for him to speak.

"Why are you here, Rose?" he asked after a few minutes had gone by silently. "Don't you have homework to do or something?"

"Probably."

"So why are you here?" Scorpius repeated.

"Because I was worried about you."

"Well...don't be," he said, turning away from her and moving closer to the edge of the tower, leaning on the stone battlements and gazing out over the grounds.

Rose pulled herself to her feet and walked over to Scorpius, standing next to him and trying to forget just how high up they were.

"Scorp, how can I not after what happened back there?" she asked softly. "You seemed so scared -"

"I wasn't scared."

"Could've fooled me."

Scorpius turned to look at Rose angrily, clenching his fists at his sides and walking away once more. He stopped when he reached the middle of the tower, and spun around to face her, shaking his hair from where it had fallen into his eyes.

"You have no idea what it's like, do you? Coming from a family that has been associated with the dark arts for as long as you can remember. Never having anyone speak to you normally once they find out your name, as if they're frightened that even the slightest thing might tip you over the edge. Remember how Albus reacted when he saw you sitting with me? That's what I've had to put up with _my whole life_. People judging me by what my father has done, what my grandfather has done. Nobody seems to remember how they've changed, how much they regret their pasts. Everyone always focuses on the bad. They joined the Dark Lord once, how long will it be before someone new comes along and they fall into line once more?"

"Scorp..."

"It makes you think after a while. If so many people believe I'm going to become just like my father, how can they be wrong? Maybe there is something in it. Maybe, no matter how hard I try not to, I'm going to end up on the wrong side, so why fight it? Why not just let destiny take its own course?" The look on Scorpius' face had changed from anger to fear, and the way he was nervously fiddling with his hands reminded Rose of a small child after being told off.

"From what I've heard, Scorpius, you're **nothing** like your father," Rose reassured him. "Barring the physical resemblance, of course."

"But -"

"But nothing. You're a good guy, Scorp, I don't see why more people don't see it. You're not going to turn into Draco."

"You're lucky to be so sure," Scorpius said staring down at the floor.

Rose walked over to him and lifted his head so he was looking her in the eyes.

"When have I ever been wrong?" she joked before pulling him into a tight hug

--

**A/N:**_ I really do love all you people who have reviewed so far - sorry I've kept you waiting! I think this chapter is my favourite so far, what do you all think? Let me know!_


	12. Pride and Prejudice

**A/N:** _OK, so exams start on Wednesday for a couple of weeks, then after that I'll have nothing to revise for for a while so will be more able to focus on this!  
_**Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy  
_**Disclaimer:**_ If I was JKR, wouldn't I just be writing another novel and making more millions, rather than writing fanfiction?_

--

The Great Hall seemed bigger to Rose each time she stepped foot in it, although as far as she was aware there was no enchantment upon it to make it do so. She voiced her opinion to Scorpius as they sat having breakfast together, as had become ritual, but he merely shrugged and returned to eating.

"But don't you think so?" she persisted, resting her chin on her hand and tilting her head to one side as she observed the banners that hung on the walls.

"I think you should hurry up and finish before we're late for lessons," Scorpius replied, pointing his fork at the solitary sausage left on Rose's plate. "You going to eat that?"

"Go ahead," she sighed, rolling her eyes at him. "You know, one morning we might actually have a proper conversation that **doesn't** involve food."

"And I can't wait for that day to arrive," Scorpius said earnestly. "But until then, Rosie, don't try to fix something that isn't broken."

--

In what appeared to have been a final attempt to silence all those who insisted he would turn out just like his father before him, Scorpius had chosen Muggle Studies for his third year. Sitting down at a desk next to Rose, he stared apprehensively at the paperback novel that was placed in front of him, noting that everyone in the class had been given a copy.

"Pride and Prejudice?" he read, turning the book over to look at the back cover. "And this is supposed to teach us, what, exactly?"

"More than you would think, Mr. Malfoy," Scorpius looked up to find that the source of the voice was Professor Fawcett, who was stood at the front of the class as if waiting for silence before the lesson could begin. "One of the most effective ways of learning about Muggle culture is by studying their literature, and over the year we shall be looking at several examples from different periods in Muggle history. Pride and Prejudice is considered quite the classic nowadays, as I'm sure your friend Miss Weasley there could tell you."

Scorpius looked to the side of him and saw Rose had already started to read fervently. She looked up and the tips of her ears reddened slightly as she noticed his puzzled gaze fixed on her, and she lowered the book with a small smile.

"It's a favourite," she said by way of an explanation. "Mum lent it to me a couple of years back and I was pretty much hooked."

"Like so many others before you," Professor Fawcett added, before addressing the whole class. "You will have until Christmas to read the book, and then we shall start to study it properly in the new year. If anybody is having any problems, please come and see me. You can use the rest of this lesson to begin."

A silence fell across the classroom as the books were opened and people started to read. Only Scorpius' copy remained closed, as he stared at the image on the front.

--

Rose had once again claimed her armchair in the common room and sat quietly reading her copy of Pride and Prejudice. Scorpius lay sprawled across the rug in front of the fireplace, studying the back of the book intently, occasionally flipping it over to look at the illustrated front cover. Every once in a while he looked up to see her eyes still glued to the page, and he shook his head in disbelief, astonished at how anybody could spend as long as she had reading one book without needing a break from it. As if she could guess what he was thinking, Rose tore her eyes away from the book and looked towards Scorpius instead.

"What's up, Scorp?" she eventually asked, exasperation evident in her voice.

"This Darcy guy -"

"**Mr** Darcy."

"- is in love with this Elizabeth girl -"

"Not yet."

"But the back of the book says -"

"- that you have to actually read the story before you'll be able to talk about it properly," Rose finished, glaring at Scorpius. "You can't just read the blurb, Scorp, you'll miss too much."

"Can't you just tell me what I need to know and be done with it?" Scorpius pleaded, pouting slightly. "I don't _do_ love stories, Rosie. Plus I've got a pile of Arithmancy homework to do, not to mention that Defence essay, and me and Al were planning on doing some Quidditch practice later..."

"Since when were you and Albus best buds?" Rose asked, one eyebrow raised quizzically. "Last I heard, you were still at the stage of merely tolerating each other's presence. In small doses."

"It's a guy thing," Scorpius protested. "Play a little Quidditch, avoid the horribly slushy musings of Jane Austen, you know."

"Horribly slushy? You really didn't get past the blurb, did you?"

"Well I fail to see how it can be anything _but_ slushy, given the subject matter. I mean, come on - boy meets girl, they fall in love, **the end**. It's not exactly what I'd call exciting."

Rose stared at him for a second before straightening up in her seat, placing the book on the arm of the chair with a well worn bookmark noting her place.

"It's not like they fall in love straight away, you know. They hate each other to begin with," she paused for a moment and gazed into the fire, a small smile playing across her face. "Everything about them is different - he's rich, she's poor. She comes from a large family, he only has a sister. She's kind and modest, he's seen by many as the most arrogant man on the face of the planet..."

"All sounding painfully familiar," Scorpius interrupted with a grin. "Couldn't they put it all behind them and be friends?"

"It would've made an awfully short book if they had," Rose replied. "Just promise me you'll **try** and read it?"

"If you insist."

"I do," she stated happily, before returning to the page she had reached, leaving Scorpius to ponder what the best way to throw his book into the fire without her noticing would be.

--

**A/N:**_ I love reviews, hint hint, and of course I adore my reviewers - especially those of you that have been following for quite a while. Hope you stick around for the rest! _


	13. A Family Affair

**A/N: Apologies for the delay in updating! Many thanks for the reviews, keep them coming!  
Main Characters: **_Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter  
_**Disclaimer:**_ Nope, still don't own the Potterverse. Maybe one day..._

_--_

The first Hogsmeade weekend of the year was, typically, a stormy one, and raindrops glistened as they fell, splashing into already formed puddles on the ground. Rose's _impervius _charm kept the water from hitting the trio, but Scorpius was still grateful to step into the warmth of the Three Broomsticks upon reaching the town.

"...all I'm saying is that a shop like that shouldn't be so near the school!" Rose was saying to Albus. "It'll give people the wrong idea."

"I think that's the point," her cousin interjected. "Come on, Rosie, you can't seriously be thinking of complaining about it."

Rose glared at the nickname, but her features softened slightly as she swilled her butterbeer. "Of course I'm not. I just think Uncle George should have known better than to relocate to Hogsmeade. He sells some pretty dangerous things in that shop."

"Done no harm so far though, have they?"

"Depends what you mean by 'harm'."

"Severed limbs, death..."

"I think that's more to do with not wanting a term in Azkaban than actually caring about customers."

"Of course it isn't!"

"What do you think, Scorp?"

"I...uh...agree with Rose?" he replied tentatively, not wishing to be dragged into family arguments but deciding that his best plan would be to stay on the side of his housemate. "Where next?" he asked quickly, changing the subject before Albus could make any comeback.

"Honeydukes?" Rose suggested, smiling gratefully at Scorpius.

--

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Rose said quietly as they walked down the street, Albus trailing behind them. "Agree with me."

"Of course I did. Malfoy Code Of Behaviour Number 512 - when in doubt, agree with the person most likely to win, or at least most likely to take losing badly."

"I never know whether to believe you or not when you say things like that," Rose replied, punching him lightly on the arm. "And I do _not_ take losing badly."

"Says the girl who refuses to ever pick up a chessboard again after being beaten. _Once_."

--

The sweet shop was swarming with students who were seeking refuge from the rain outside. Albus quickly found some Gryffindor friends and invented some excuse involving Quidditch tactics before hurrying over to them. Rose looked mildly hurt for a moment, but distracted herself by inspecting a new range of sugar quills that were on a shelf in front of her. If Scorpius noticed the expression on her face, he knew better than to ask her about it with Albus still in hearing distance.

--

That afternoon, as the third years made their way back to the castle, the rain ceased and the sun appeared from behind the grey clouds that coloured the sky. Albus was still refusing to talk to the two Ravenclaws, so the pair walked in a comfortable silence back up the hill towards Hogwarts, occasionally making conversation but neither feeling the need to talk endlessly like their classmates. Making their way into the common room they were hit by the warm air emanating from the lit fireplace, only now realising the true extent of the cold chill outside. Forgoing the comfort of the chair, Rose sat herself cross legged in front of the fire, patting the space next to her as an invitation to Scorpius.

"I wish we weren't related sometimes, you know," she said after a few moments, eyes still transfixed on the dancing flames.

"Albus?" Scorpius guessed, turning to face her.

"Yeah."

Sensing that she wasn't going to continue without being prompted, Scorpius made himself comfortable before asking the next question. "Why?"

"You've seen how he is sometimes," she began, playing with a loose thread on the rug. "It's like if he doesn't get his own way, nothing else is acceptable."

"Now who does that remind you of?" Scorpius replied, smirking. "It's no reason to disown him."

"You don't have to spend whole summers with him."

"No family's perfect, Rosie."

She finally drew her eyes away from the flames and looked at him, tears starting to form. When she spoke again, he could detect an element of scorn in her voice.

"No, but ours is expected to be. Parents who saved the wizarding world. A mother who is still the greatest known student Hogwarts has ever had. It's a lot to live up to, Scorp."

He shuffled closer and placed one arm around her, playing with her hair as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Nobody expects you to be anything other than yourself," Scorpius whispered, and, when she made as if to argue back, he echoed the words that she had said to him when he had needed reassurance. "When have I ever been wrong?"

They stayed like that until the last embers of the fire had burned themselves out.

--

Lying in her bed later, Rose was surprised to find that although it must have started a long while ago, she couldn't pinpoint the exact moment that Scorpius had begun calling her 'Rosie'. She was even more surprised, however, to find that it didn't irritate her half as much as it ought to.

--

**A/N: **_Hmm, is romance in the air? Who knows. [Well...I do, obviously...and if you review, maybe you will too!_


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